National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants

INFORMATIONAL LETTER: 100
POLICY CODE: LG/EF

TO:                  Superintendents of Schools/Private School Administrators
FROM:            Susan A. Gendron, Commissioner
DATE:             March 29, 2010
RE:                   National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants

Please Forward to Food Service Directors and Business Managers

In accordance with Section 7(a)(2) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776(a)(2)), on October 1, 2009, the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) received a one-time appropriation of $25,000,000 for equipment assistance to eligible school food authorities (SFA) participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). This one-time appropriation will be used for the purchase of equipment for schools under the jurisdiction of such authorities.

Please note that these fiscal year (FY) 2010 NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants are similar in nature to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5, or “ARRA”) equipment grants awarded in FY 2009, but should not be confused with them.

Maine will receive $76,036 in funds for food service equipment assistance. The funds are intended to be utilized expeditiously; therefore, the timeline for funding allocations and implementation will be very short.

The following is a very quick timeline of the equipment assistance process:

Applications and supporting documents are due at the Department of Education by May 14, 2010.
Grants will be awarded by May 21, 2010.
Agreements and Claims are due at the Maine Department of Education by August 1, 2010.

Information on the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants process and application materials can be found at the following website: http://www.maine.gov/education/sfs/equip.html . If you have any questions contact Walter Beesley at Walter.Beesley@maine.gov or (207) 624-6875.